Final Eight Rumble
by LawrenceDaddarioWatsonStewart
Summary: Hello, my dear readers! I know it has been super long since I last published, but this is a quick one that I just had to get down. The premise is a normal ending to the 75th Hunger Games, or 3rd Quarter Quell. The wire's placement in the arena was neglected. Who will win, of the Final Eight victors? Also, I have a much longer epic in the works, so stay tuned for that! Enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Well, we have now reached the Final 8 of the 75th Annual Hunger Games! Panem, here are the names of your possible next Victor. Claudius and I will go through each one and assess his or her chances. Let us start with our fang-bared Career from District 2: Enobaria Golding!" Caesar Flickerman announced.

"Thanks, Caesar!" Claudius picked up. "Enobaria - 30 years old, and she won her first Games by ripping out her final opponent's throat. Fans love her ferocity, and even if you just look at this recap from Day 1 of this year -" A playback of footage showed Enobaria stabbing the woman from District Nine through the stomach "- she is not afraid to get her hands dirty. She's quick, agile, which will make it tough for an adversary to take her down in hand-to-hand combat. If she can continue in-and-out attacks, she stands a chance of being Victor again."

"What of her partner, Brutus Gunn of District 2?" Caesar questioned.

"Ah yes, Brutus Gunn: he looks like he has not aged a day since his first time in the arena. Incredibly fit, animalistic strength; we saw that when he managed to put one tribute in a chokehold while literally sitting on the chest of another." Old footage of a teenage Brutus performing this feat in his first Games ran as Claudius spoke. "Here's the problem, Caesar: Brutus Gunn is in his mid-forties. Yeah, he is strong for someone his age - but so are Finnick Odair and Peeta Mellark. That, plus his bulk makes him move slower than Enobaria, so he could get trapped by one of his younger competitors. To win, Brutus needs to keep using his spear at arm's length; don't get into unnecessary close quarters during hand-to-hand combat. Don't let Finnick or Peeta box him out."

"Alright, and now for our surprise entry in this Final Eight: Mr. Beetee Latier of District 3!"

"OK, Caesar, I'm gonna say this right now: the only reason Beetee Latier is still alive is because he has ridden on the coat tails of more physically savvy tributes. Remember: this man is a tactician, not a bodybuilder. So far, Beetee has stayed away from direct confrontation; the name of the game for him has been 'dodge, dodge, dodge.' Look at him running up to the Cornucopia the other day." There was a playback of Beetee running to the horn and searching desperately for something. "He's so focused on whatever it is he's looking for, he does not know Enobaria is in his blind spot until her knife is in his back. But once that happens, he's chosen flight over fight. Watch this: he actually _rolls_ off the island and into the water just to get away from her!"

"Can he win? Evading like that?" Caesar pressed.

"Not forever. Every tribute has to fight, and as I said before, Beetee Latier is no fighter. He could hide, but that defeats the purpose of the arena. He does not have the tools to set a trap like in his last Games. So, I would strongly place my bets that Beetee's luck is about to run out; he's the next kill."

"Next up: Panem's true love from District 4 - Finnick Odair!" Caesar called.

"Right now, Finnick Odair has all the advantages. He's got the fans. The handsome looks. Easy money from the sponsors. And now that his district partner is dead, he can take the gloves off - just look at him spearing those monkey mutts! He is not like any of the others because he can fight in any terrain - both land and sea. The only person who might compete in beauty and manliness is Peeta. But if Finnick can intimidate the other tributes after this large alliance breaks up, he may well be on his way to another title."

"On to the only female Victor from Seven - Johanna Mason!" Caesar crowed.

Claudius jumped right in. "Now, here we have someone who is proficient in a very unique weapon: the axe. It will be difficult for other tributes to guard against this. Plus, Johanna has that temper that we in the Capitol enjoy. Her only weakness is that we already know this about her, and the other ladies like Enobaria and Katniss compete for this trait. What Johanna needs to do is attack when her opponents least expect it, just as she did four years ago, and she could pull it out!"

"Chaff Barley, District 11!" Caesar called.

"Another surprise entry. Honestly, I am amazed he has lasted this long - and on his own!" Claudius mused. " Although, it follows in the tradition of past tributes from 11. No allies means the others have no idea what to expect. Chaff is the wild card. Unfortunately, his weakness is obvious: his missing hand. It puts him at a distinct disadvantage in hand-to-hand. If he comes up against a Peeta or a Brutus or a Finnick, he'll lose and he'll lose big."

"Which brings us to District 12 and the lovely Katniss Everdeen," Caesar segwayed.

"Honestly, Caesar, I knew she was going to win last year. No Twelve tribute since Haymitch Abernathy has gone out of the gates so strong! She's skilled in a weapon rarely deployed in the arena, like Johanna, so it will be hard for the other tributes to even learn how to guard against her arrows. See how she picked off that District 1 boy so easily last year? Also, a brilliant survivalist! If Katniss can avoid fighting in close proximity and just sticks to what she knows, she could make history!"

"And last, but certainly not least, her better half, Mr. Peeta Mellark!"

"You know, it was so hard to choose between them last year; so glad for the twist! He is polished and handsome. Amicable amongst the sponsors. Also, so strong! Look at that - BOOM! - pretty headlock as he drowns the male from Nine on the first day this year! Truly, he could overpower most of the other tributes left in this field, Brutus included. The only question remaining: what will he do with Katniss? Can he part with his lover, or is she his Achilles heel?"

"Well, thank you, Claudius. Now coming up: the family interviews for the Final 8. Stay tuned."


	2. Chapter 1: The Star-Crossed Lovers Run

**Chapter 1: The Star-Crossed Lovers Run**

The 75th Hunger Games was rapidly hurtling towards its conclusion. In two days, 16 former Victors had been slaughtered. Only 8 were left, leading to a hallmark in the Games where the loved ones of tributes were interviewed.

Five of the remainder were in a mega alliance, and now deciding their next move.

"Who's left? Besides us five and District 2?" Katniss wondered.

"Chaff," Peeta reported automatically.

Katniss frowned in thought, before holding out a hand to Peeta. "Come on, I'll teach you how to swim."

As she taught him the strokes, Katniss whispered to Peeta, "Look the field is down to eight. I think it's time to clear out."

"Well, what if we stick around till the Careers are dead?" Peeta suggested.

"Because even if they do die, we both know what happens next. I don't wanna be the one who shoots first."

Peeta shrugged. "Well, what if they don't either? What if all of us refuse to shoot first?"

"Peeta, if that were true, then all the other tributes would still be alive; the Games would never have started. I want us to have the high ground now for when the finale really picks up speed." She studied his eyes searchingly. "So will you go with me? To the edge of the arena?"

Peeta smiled. "Farther than that. To the ends of the earth."

The sudden playing of the anthem compelled the couple to return to the others. As soon as the dead were read off, the alliance looked at each other. Katniss noticed Finnick's hand tighten on his trident. Peeta instinctively got between them.

"We'll leave right now."

"I think it's you who should be letting us go, Lover Boy. I did save your life, after all."

Katniss knew all too well what Finnick was getting at. Peeta owed him. They both did.

She saw Peeta glance at Johanna, who had taken a sudden interest in a now-nervous Beetee. If she and Peeta left, Johanna would surely kill the older man.

"All right. We let each other go in peace, on one condition: you take Beetee with you. You do not kill him. If he dies, it must be at the hands of the Gamemakers, mutts or tributes who are not either of you."

Johanna glowered, but Finnick smiled and held out his hand. "Done."

Peeta did not shake. "I can't trust even that, Finnick. Not anymore." He turned to Katniss. "Ready, sweetheart?"

She nodded. Gathering their weapons, the lovers picked a wedge and took off into the jungle.

* * *

It must have been a later hour wedge they chose, for no mutts disturbed the District 12 Victors the rest of that evening and into the night. At last, Katniss and Peeta paused to rest against a tree. While she hunted, Peeta lit a very contained fire to cook whatever meal was procured. After feasting on a tree rat, there was a sudden rustling in the bushes. Petra's entire body tensed and he approached the source of the sound. Katniss held her breath.

She nearly screamed as Peeta plunged into some bushes and scuffling could be heard. The huntress readied her bow to protect her lover, taking aim as a dark figure scrambled out of the bushes.

"Peeta, stop! Katniss, don't shoot! Don't shoot! It's me!"

Katniss peered through the darkness. She knew that voice.

"Chaff?" She yelled out into the shadows.

* * *

Katniss had no idea how the hulking, forty-something black man had ended up sitting with them at their campsite. Yet here he was, munching on a rabbit leg.

"It's a little late for alliances, don't you think?" she prodded.

Chaff shrugged. "It's more than that. I've been searching for you two since the start of the Games. I promised Haymitch I would keep you alive as long as I could."

Katniss opened her mouth to argue, but Chaff just shook his head. "I know what you're going to say. Don't. You have two separate groups of tributes hunting for you. Would you rather it be three?"

Peeta changed the subject when Katniss could not find a response. "So... how do you know Haymitch?"

"I've known Haymitch for 25 years. And I knew his mentor, Duke Vedaldi, several years before that," Chaff smiled. "I was one of Haymitch's first friends after he was crowned Victor; we shared booze during the Games." He looked between the teenagers. "I was so excited for him when you two won. The best tributes he's ever had. You both have a lot of guts."

Katniss actually found herself blushing at his words. Chaff seemed warm and friendly, and despite her usually guarded nature towards others, his status as a friend of Haymitch helped her to trust him.

As the fire died down, Chaff offered to take First watch, allowing the lovers to sleep.

* * *

Daylight was only a little ways off, when a huge roar made the District 12 tributes wake up. Chaff motioned for his charges to be quiet and the three tributes, now armed, crept through the trees. If there was a mutt out there, it would stop at nothing until it encountered a tribute.

A mutt was out there, all right. A giant creature combined from several animals at once: the head of a boar, the teeth and mans of a lion, the body of a bear. When The Beast emerged angrily from the underbrush, Chaff pushed Katniss and Peeta away.

"Both of you get out of here: now! Run and hide! I'll come find you!"

Wanting to ensure Katniss's safety, Peeta took her hand and began to sprint away. Katniss resisted. "Wait! Chaff!"

"GO, NOW!" Chaff roared, as The Beast attacked and he beat it back with his scythe. Roaring in painful rage, The Beast seized Chaff in a giant paw, trapping him.

Peeta pulled Katniss into the trees so she lost sight of Chaff. But roughly fifteen minutes later, there was a human scream, followed by a cannon. The Beast had consumed Chaff.

A hovercraft came to collect the District 11 victor's remains as the sky began to lighten, letting Katniss and Peeta know they had likely wandered into the 6 to 7 o'clock sector of the arena.


	3. Chapter 2: Alliance Further Disintegrate

**Chapter 2: Alliance Further Disintegrates**

Later that same morning, Johanna, Finnick and Beetee were wandering through an unknown sector of the arena, looking for tributes to kill. While Finnick carried the older man piggyback, Johanna led the way, hacking at the foliage with her axe. Finally, Finnick called a halt.

"I'm going to find us some food. If we eat as soon as possible, we'll be able to fight whatever danger comes our way in this sector. It will probably arrive soon. You two stay here." And, after depositing Beetee, off he went through the trees.

Johanna initially busied herself gathering nuts and berries. Beetee just watched her, a decision she seemed annoyed by. Finally, the old man broke the silence.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"I would certainly like to," Johanna shrugged with brutal honesty. "You're a liability. Plus, an easy kill."

Beetee did nothing to contradict these points. "Well, you'd better get on with it, then, before Fish Boy comes back." Johanna ignored the temptation.

Not forever, though. When she sprang on him suddenly with her axe, Beetee fought back only half heartedly. Johanna had soon hacked him to death. The cannon signaled crashes through the wilderness as Finnick came running.

"Johanna? JOHANNA!" Finnick arrived in the clearing just in time to see the hovercraft retrieving Beetee's body. He stared.

"What did you do?"

"A favor," Johanna answered flippantly. "He was never gonna make it anyway, Finnick. You know that."

Fisherman and lumberjack eyed each other wearily.

"Are we no longer allies?" Finnick voiced, his being tensed as he prepared for possible battle.

Johanna just smiled. Dropping her axe, she reached him in one stride and pulled him to her, playfully kissing him on the mouth. After a moment, she drew away.

"Nah, gorgeous. I'm not gonna kill you. Careers and LoveBirds are probably still out there. We'll need to work together to beat them."

And the two continued on, resolving to be allies until the end.


	4. Chapter 3: Careers on the Warpath

**Chapter 3: Careers on the Warpath**

There was a sharp crack as the forty-something Brutus ripped apart a log with his bare hands. Now divested of its hiding place, the tree rat only had time to squeal before a spear was plunged into its body. Enobaria helped to cook the carcass over a small fire.

"Heard two cannons today," Brutus rumbled in his deep bass. "Who ya think it was?"

"Beetee and that Chaff, probably. They'd be the last of the dead wood."

"So, that leaves Abernathy's kids, Odair and the Mason girl," Brutus grinned. "Good. It'll make for an exciting fight."

"Who do you want to go after first?" Enobaria blandly inquired.

"District 12. Let me have the Everdeen slut, you take Mellark." Brutus did not mention how this would likely put his ally in a lethal trap, so he could then kill Peeta himself. Also, the things he wanted to do to the Girl on Fire's dead body... He grinned sickeningly. Yet Enobaria raised no objections.

A screech made the District 2 Careers halt their ruminations. A troop of orange monkeys were now gathering in the trees around them. Brutus's eyes narrowed, and he raised his spear.

"Mutts."

When the 3:00 afternoon hour began, the monkeys attacked with relentless ferocity. Brutus's spear was a blur, his muscles rippling with each stab. Enobaria hacked and swung with her broadsword. The monkeys kept coming, but the Careers stayed on their feet.

By the time the hour was up, the jungle floor was littered with the bodies of dozens of monkeys. Any surviving mutts melted back into the trees. Though winded, Brutus and Enobaria perked up at Claudius Templesmith's announcement:

"Attention, tributes, attention: commencing at midnight tonight, there will be a Feast at the Lightning Tree. Each of you needs water desperately. And we plan to be... generous hosts."

The Careers grinned at each other. The District 12 Victors would surely be at the Feast.

And there, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark would die by their hands. The Careers would make sure of it.


	5. Chapter 4: One Victor to Rule Them All

**Chapter 4: One Victor to Rule Them All**

All was quiet as Katniss and Peeta approached the Lightning Tree just a few minutes before midnight. Knowing this might be their last moment together, Peeta took Katniss by the waist and pulled her to him. Her questioning look was silenced by a gentle peck on the lips. Gazing into each other's eyes, the message was silent, but clear.

A sudden rustling and call of "Aw, that's sweet," made them snap out of it. Enobaria sneered at the sight as she and Brutus stepped out of the trees.

"How's it going, Twelve?" Brutus rumbled.

"Just fine, Brutus," Peeta answered courteously. "Just saying goodbye to my wife."

"What for? You both going to the same place," Brutus chuckled.

Peeta smiled calmly. "You're wrong. Soon, I will be dead, and you with me."

Brutus stared. Had the boy gone mad? Here he was, still a kid, and Brutus had been mentoring tributes before Peeta was even born. He remembered how these two had cheated his protege Cato out of a win last year, and the middle-aged Victor snarled.

The two sets of District partners faced each other, just as Brutus had intended: Peeta vs. Enobaria, him vs. Katniss.

The moment the lightning struck the tree, the Careers charged. Enobaria whirled her broadsword at Peeta, but he managed to block her attack with his own blade. The two sparred, initially a fairly even match.

Katniss, meanwhile, shot an arrow at Brutus as he rushed her. It hit him in the thigh, but the male Career didn't even slow down. He tackled Katniss to the earth, pinning her limbs down with his strong grasp as he straddled her. Katniss fought with everything she had, but her struggling did not stop the man from stripping her of her arena jumpsuit from the waist down. Horrified, Katniss only caught one sight of Brutus's engorged penis before he roughly kissed her. She screamed into his mouth as he roughly entered her, her cries discordantly harmonizing with his moans of pleasure and frantic thrusts.

Seeing his lover raped enraged Peeta, reinvigorating his fighting. He poured his anger into beating back Enobaria, finally slicing her sword in half with his own. Her surprise gave Peeta an opening as he threw Enobaria to the ground, seized her in a vice-like grip and snapped her neck like a twig.

The battle had taken less than five minutes.

Brutus heard the cannon, but continued to fuck Katniss, assuming the blast was for Peeta. He was thoroughly shocked, therefore, when heavy hands yanked him off the young woman. He looked up, stunned into Peeta's furious face.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY WIFE, YOU SICK BASTARD!"

Brutus leapt to his face and charged Peeta. Nude from the waist down, it was almost funny - until a recovered, dressed and furious Katniss shot an arrow in his arm. Brutus growled, but kept coming. The delay gave Peeta enough time to dodge the older man's spear stab and strike his blade through Brutus's stomach. Now significantly weakened, Brutus stumbled backward.

"KATNISS, NOW!" The couple bull-rushed Brutus, knocking him off his feet and trapping him with their limbs. Using all their strength, they threw Brutus into the nearby arena force field. There was a sharp CRACKLE! of electricity as Brutus was singed and electrocuted. The power stopped his heart; he died almost instantly.

Another cannon.

Katniss and Peeta looked at each other in admiration. They had just beaten the Careers - again!

"I love you," both sighed, before they embraced and kissed passionately.

It was an almost fatal error.

Peeta saw the trident first, over Katniss's shoulder. Breaking the kiss, he pushed Katniss to the ground before diving out of the way himself. The trident continued its flight path until impaling into a nearby tree.

Finnick appeared in the clearing, Johanna hot on his heels. Seeing the bodies of the Careers, they stared, secretly impressed, before readying for battle.

The match-ups divided themselves up boy-girl, just as before. Katniss dodged and rolled away from Finnick's trident throws, all the while firing arrows that he evaded.

Johanna and Peeta dueled in more close quarters, hand-to-hand with sword and axe. The female Victor from Seven was a tougher adversary than Enobaria. About ten minutes in, Johanna managed to disarm Peeta, before tackling him. The two Victors grappled for control of the axe, rolling around on the ground. Johanna on top of him and boring down despite Peeta's strength, the District 12 male Victor got an idea. He unexpectedly pressed his lips to Johanna in a kiss.

"Mmmmm!" Johanna squealed in shock and outrage, but the kiss did its work. Distracting her, Peeta wrenched the axe from Johanna's grasp, flipped her beneath him and decapitated her with one clean stroke.

BOOM.

Finnick paused in his scrimmage with Katniss, rendered speechless by his ally's demise. His face contorted in rage, he headed for Peeta, trident raised. Katniss desperately pursued him, readying her bow. Peeta scrambled to his feet, holding aloft the only weapon he had left: the axe.

An eerie triangular tableau now ensued - Katniss taking deadly aim at Finnick, while Peeta prepared to chuck the axe. And the District 4 Victor was caught right between them, boxed out.

Katniss knew Snow would be watching. Perhaps he would intervene as Finnick had inadvertently become the President's last chance to stop the Rebellion. Crowning Finnick as Victor would halt a revolution.

Knowing he was trapped, Finnick played the only card he had left.

He threw the trident. At Peeta.

Peeta dodged, while desperately launching the axe at his enemy. Despite his inexperience with the weapon, the blade sliced through Finnick's left arm, critically wounding his throwing limb. Katniss seized the moment, shooting Finnick in the temple.

There was a THUD as the trident harmlessly found another tree trunk as its mark, followed by another THUD as Finnick's body dropped to the ground. Then the cannon.

Katniss and Peeta stared at each other. Against all odds, they had reached the Top Two for the second year in a row. District 12 was once again assured victory. Only this time, both tributes could not be saved.

"Shoot me, Katniss! Quick, before Snow -"

"I can't. I WON'T!"

Katniss and Peeta rushed into each other's arms. The Lightning Tree shrieked with electricity, and KABOOMs could be heard as bombs were dropped into the arena by no doubt enraged Gamemakers. The couple forgot this hellish world, however.

As Katniss and Peeta kissed, the huntress secretly plucked a forgotten knife from Peeta's pocket. Before he could react, she mortally impaled herself on it, through her stomach.

A distraught Peeta held her in his arms, weeping and asking "Why?" As her body drained of blood, Katniss captured Peeta's lips in one last kiss before she expired.

The final cannon sounded, followed by trumpet blasts that Peeta could not care to hear.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the winner of the 75th Annual Hunger Games: Peeta Mellark! I give you - the male Victor from District 12!"


End file.
